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Introduction
Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians is concerned first of all with “God’s plan … to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head” (1:10). It is also an appeal to God’s people to live out the meaning of this great plan for the unity of the whole human race through oneness with Jesus Christ.
In the first part of Ephesians the writer develops the theme of unity by speaking of the way in which God the Father has chosen his people, how they are forgiven and set free from their sins through Jesus Christ the Son, and how God’s great promise is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. In the second part he appeals to the readers to live in such a way that their oneness in Christ may become real in their life together.
Several figures of speech are used to show the oneness of God’s people in union with Christ: the church is like a body, with Christ as the head; or like a building, with Christ as the cornerstone; or like a wife, with Christ as the husband. This letter rises to greater heights of expression as the writer is moved by the thought of God’s grace in Christ. Everything is seen in the light of Christ’s love, sacrifice, forgiveness, grace, and purity.
Outline of Contents
Introduction 1:1–2
Christ and the church 1:3–3:21
The new life in Christ 4:1–6:20
Conclusion 6:21–24
1 * From Paul, who by God’s will is an apostle of Christ Jesus—
To God’s people in Ephesus,a who are faithful in their life in union with Christ Jesus:
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
3 Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world. 4Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him.
Because of his love 5Godb had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his sons and daughters—this was his pleasure and purpose. 6Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son! 7*For by the bloodc of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, 8which he gave to us in such large measure!
In all his wisdom and insight 9God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ. 10This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head.
11 All things are done according to God’s plan and decision; and God chose us to be his own people in union with Christ because of his own purpose, based on what he had decided from the very beginning. 12Let us, then, who were the first to hope in Christ, praise God’s glory!
13 And you also became God’s people when you heard the true message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ, and God put his stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit he had promised. 14The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God has promised his people, and this assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are his. Let us praise his glory!
15 For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16I have not stopped giving thanks to God for you. I remember you in my prayers 17and ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give you the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to you, so that you will know him. 18I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people, 19and how very great is his power at work in us who believe. This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength 20*which he used when he raised Christ from death and seated him at his right side in the heavenly world. 21Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next. 22*God put all things under Christ’s feet and gave him to the church as supreme Lord over all things. 23*The church is Christ’s body, the completion of him who himself completes all things everywhere.d
2 * In the past you were spiritually dead because of your disobedience and sins. 2*At that time you followed the world’s evil way; you obeyed the ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God. 3*Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God’s anger.
4 *But God’s mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, 5*that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God’s grace that you have been saved. 6In our union with Christ Jesus he raised us up with him to rule with him in the heavenly world. 7He did this to demonstrate for all time to come the extraordinary greatness of his grace in the love he showed us in Christ Jesus. 8–9For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it. 10God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do.
11 You Gentiles by birth—called “the uncircumcised” by the Jews, who call themselves “the circumcised” (which refers to what men do to their bodies)—remember what you were in the past. 12At that time you were apart from Christ. You were foreigners and did not belong to God’s chosen people. You had no part in the covenants, which were based on God’s promises to his people, and you lived in this world without hope and without God. 13But now, in union with Christ Jesus, you who used to be far away have been brought near by the bloode of Christ. 14For Christ himself has brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people. With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies. 15*He abolished the Jewish Law with its commandments and rules, in order to create out of the two races one new people in union with himself, in this way making peace. 16*By his death on the cross Christ destroyed their enmity; by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God. 17*So Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to all—to you Gentiles, who were far away from God, and to the Jews, who were near to him. 18It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father.
19 So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer; you are now fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of the family of God. 20You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets,f the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself. 21He is the one who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord. 22In union with him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through his Spirit.
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About Good News TranslationThis Bible uses simple everyday language and vocabulary shared by everyone regardless of age or background. The "dynamic equivalence" in translation communicates the meaning and style of the original in a unique way. Also known as Today's English Version. |
Copyright |
The Good News Translation Bible text used in this product is being used by permission. Copyright © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992. Quotation Rights for The Good News Translation The American Bible Society is glad to grant authors and publishers the right to use up to one thousand (1,000) verses from The Good News Translation text in church, religious and other publications without the need to seek and receive written permission. However, the extent of quotation must not comprise a complete book nor should it amount to more than 50% of the work. The proper copyright notice must appear on the title or copyright page. When quotations from GNT are used in a non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (GNT) must appear at the end of each quotation. Requests for quotations in excess of one thousand (1,000) verses in any publication must be directed to, and written approval received from, the American Bible Society, 1865 Broadway, New York, NY 10023. |
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